The Hollow Bone Initiative · Asheville, NC
Gateway House
The Front Porch of Shope Creek
Acquired by the Hollow Bone Initiative · 252 & 254 Shope Creek Road · Closing August 22
✦ It's Happening
Gateway House has been acquired.
Shope Creek is expanding.
We close on August 22. The front porch is no longer a vision — it's a door the community is holding open, in perpetuity.
✦ The Problem Shope Creek Has
Shope Creek's problem isn't land.
It's where do people stay?
Where do artists stay?
Where do donors stay?
Where do Camp Mary guests stay?
Where do founders stay?
Where do potential stewards stay?
Where do retreat participants land before they enter the wilderness?
Gateway House is the answer.
Not an Airbnb next door. Not a rental property. A strategic piece of the ecosystem — the arrival point, the decompression chamber, the first yes before the deeper yes that Shope Creek asks of people.
Now the ecosystem starts to feel complete.
✦ The Ecosystem
Every piece now
has a home.
Shope Creek Wilderness
The Village · 131 acres · The land itself
The Field
Innovation · The living laboratory
Camp Mary
Gathering · Adult summer camp · The fire
Frequency Underground
Media · The sound · The story
Gateway House
Hospitality · The front porch · The arrival
Gateway House completes the village. Without it, people come and have nowhere to land. With it, the whole thing works.
✦ What It Is
Before the trail.
Before the fire.
Before the gathering.
Before the music.
There is a doorway.
Gateway House is where visitors arrive, settle in, and prepare for their Shope Creek experience. Part retreat house. Part artist residency. Part hospitality hub. Part community gathering place. The Shope Creek Wilderness non-profit — the 501(c)(3) — now holds the property in perpetuity. A steward lives on site, designs the spaces, and holds the arrival experience, engaging with guests on their own terms.
The House · 252
Artist Residency
Guest Retreats
Donor Housing
Camp Mary Overflow
3 beds · 2 baths · Creek deck · 4.96 ★
The Cottage · 254
Private Retreats
Writer Residency
Healing Stays
Founder Housing
2 beds · 1 bath · Hot tub · Fire pit · 4.95 ★
Website
shopecreekwilderness.com/gatewayhouse
A dedicated landing inside the Shope Creek world. Not a separate Airbnb listing. A chapter in the story.
✦ The Hollow Bone Vision
Participation,
not transaction.
The Hollow Bone Initiative asks two questions: Can collective consciousness move beyond fear? Can we create a new nature of exchange based on participation rather than transaction?
Gateway House is the first physical answer to the second question. It is not a product to be sold. It is a threshold to be held — by the community, for the community, in perpetuity.
The non-profit holds the asset. Stephen funded it. The steward tends it. Guests do not book a room — they are invited into a room. The difference is everything.
Not a rental.
Not a flip.
Not a for-sale listing.
Not a private investment.
Held by the non-profit. Made possible by Stephen.
✦ What Gateway House Becomes
The Arrival
The decompression chamber. Where the outside world lets go of people before the wilderness receives them.
The Held Threshold
A room held in trust — never sold, never split, never turned into a commodity. The community owns the door.
The First Yes
The gentle yes before the deeper yes that Shope Creek asks of people. Gateway House is where participation begins.
The Living Room of the Village
Artists, donors, founders, stewards, and seekers all pass through the same porch. The ecosystem meets itself here.
✦ Airbnb Experiences · Day Access
Guests don't just stay.
They can come for the day.
Gateway House is already live on Airbnb — two listings, near-perfect ratings, hundreds of reviews. Because the homes are established, hosted, and highly reviewed, they are eligible for Airbnb Experiences: the platform's offering of bookable, in-person activities led by local hosts.
That eligibility is the bridge between lodging and the land. Day visitors can book a Shope Creek experience without an overnight stay — and overnight guests can layer experiences onto their visit. Gateway House becomes the front desk for a wider calendar of day access into the wilderness.
✦ Experience Add-Ons for Shope Creek
Creek Walks
Guided forest immersion along Shope Creek
Sound & Frequency Sessions
Coherence work inside The Field
Forest Floor Day Camps
Nature-based programs for kids & families
Fascia & Somatic Work
Body-led wellness sessions on site
Camp Mary Day Experiences
A taste of the camp without the full stay
Artist Studio Visits
Meet resident artists in the ecosystem
Writer & Creator Day Retreats
Quiet porch time + the land
Steward Welcome Tours
An introduction to the vision and the land
Stay → Experience
Overnight guests layer day experiences onto their visit
Day → Experience
Day visitors book Shope Creek access without an overnight
Stay → Day → Return
A first taste that leads people back to the deeper yes
Airbnb brings the world to the porch.
The experiences bring the porch to the land.
✦ The Spaces
Two homes. One identity.
Built 2022. Creekfront. Fully furnished. Already operating. Near-perfect ratings. Acquired by the non-profit — closing August 22.
The House · 252 · Artist Residency + Guest Retreats
3 beds · 2 baths · Creek deck
★ 4.96
67 reviews
The Cottage · 254 · Private Retreats + Healing Stays
2 beds · 1 bath · Hot tub · Fire pit
★ 4.95
120 reviews
✦ How This Works
The non-profit holds it.
Stephen made it possible.
Shope Creek Wilderness — the 501(c)(3) — has acquired both homes. Stephen Sedmak funded the purchase outright — all cash to the seller. No bank, no mortgage. The offer won. We close August 22 — and the property enters the ecosystem permanently.
Step 01
The Non-Profit Acquired
Both Homes
Shope Creek Wilderness (501(c)(3)) acquired both homes. The property is held in perpetuity by the non-profit — never for sale, never split apart.
Step 02
Stephen Funded It
All Cash
Stephen Sedmak funded the acquisition outright — all cash, no bank, no mortgage. The property enters the ecosystem debt-free, held permanently by the non-profit.
Step 03
A Steward Holds It
A Home + A Role
A steward lives at Gateway House, designs the spaces, and holds the arrival experience for everyone who passes through.
✦ What This Makes Possible
Debt-Free Acquisition
Funded by Stephen · All cash
Permanent Stewardship
Held by the non-profit · Never sold
The non-profit holds it. Stephen made it possible.
✦ How It Fits Together
Ownership, capital,
and hospitality — separated on purpose.
01 · Ownership
The non-profit holds the title.
Shope Creek Wilderness — the 501(c)(3) — is now the permanent legal owner. Held in perpetuity: never sold, never split, never commodified for private profit. The non-profit's only mandate is stewardship in service of the mission.
02 · Capital
Stephen funded it.
No bank. No mortgage. Stephen Sedmak funded the acquisition outright — all cash, in full. The property enters the ecosystem debt-free. A gift of capital that becomes a permanent asset of the non-profit — the threshold for the whole ecosystem, paid for by one who believed.
03 · Operation
A steward holds the arrival.
A resident steward lives at Gateway House, tends the spaces, and holds the arrival experience for everyone who passes through — the doorman for the entire ecosystem. They don't own the home; they hold the role.
✦ The Self-Sustaining Cycle
1
Stephen funds
2
Non-profit protects
3
Steward hosts
The legal structure gives it permanence.
The community gives it life. The hospitality gives it a heartbeat.
✦ Walk Through
See the spaces.
The House · 252
3 beds · Creek deck · 4.96 ★
The Cottage · 254
2 beds · Hot tub · Fire pit · 4.95 ★
Official Listing Video
✦ Property Details
Lot
1.40 acres · Creekfront
Year Built
2022 · New Construction
Elevation
2,500–3,000 ft
Zoning
Open Use · No HOA · No CCRs
Heat / Cool
Heat pump + Mini-split · Electric
Water / Sewer
Private well + Septic (4BR permitted)
Furnishings
All included — completely turnkey
Stewardship
Acquired by the 501(c)(3) · Held in perpetuity
Jessica VanDyke
Looking Glass Realty · Asheville
237 S Liberty St · Asheville, NC 28801 · (303) 819-4813
✦ The Door Is Open
The front porch
is ours.
"Gateway House is where participation begins — where the community builds the door, holds the door, and walks people through it together."
The creek is already there. The homes are already beautiful. The non-profit holds it. Stephen made it possible. We close August 22 — and the front porch becomes the first physical room of the Hollow Bone Initiative.
Shope Creek is expanding. The door is open.
✦ The Story